Drawing board



pril H6, IT

. :Snvenfor CLYDE D. LowPv.

Lttorneg Patented Apr. 16, 1940 UNITED sirxrrs PATENT oFFic E- DRAWING fno-ARD; j Clyde D. Lowry, Toledo, hio, assignorto Libbey- Owens-Ford Glass Coinpallly,

corporation of Ohio Application August 20,

3 Claims.

its liability to warp and deteriorate. It is `the aim of this invention to provide a drawing board of novel construction which will effectively over,- come all of the objectionable features heretofore encountered in wooden drawing boards as well as possessing various other advantages not found in wooden drawing boards. i l

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent during the course of the following description, when taken inconnection with the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing, wherein like numerals are emo ployed to designate like parts throughout the same:

Fig. 1 is a plan view, partially broken away, of a drawing board constructed in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a detail sectional view taken substantially on line 2-2 of Fig, 1; and

Fig. 3 is a detail sectional View taken substantially on line 3--3 of Fig. 1.

With reference to the drawing, the drawing board is shown as being of rectangular formation and comprising a supporting frame including the parallel side members 5 and 6 and the end members 'l and 8; said side and end members consisting of metal sections mitered at their adjacent ends as indicated at 9. The side and end members of the supporting frame are of the same construction and are preferably formed of extruded metal such as for example aluminum of relatively heavy gauge whereby to provide a frame of rigid, durable construction.

Each of the frame members 5, 6, I and 8 comprises a vertical side wall I formed at its lower end with an inwardly directed horizontal base flange II. The base flanges of the frame members are also mitered at their adjacent ends and are secured together by angle plates I2 receiving screws, or the like I3 which pass through the said base anges The vertical side wall III of each frame member is provided adjacent its upper end with an inwardly directed horizontal ledge I4 and Toledo, Ohio, a

1937, Serial. No.- 160,061.

(Cl. l5- 131) supported.-upon-thesaidledges is the top I5-of theboardwhich consists of a sheet or plate of glass or other vitreousrmaterial and preferablythoughnot necessarily transparent. Also, if desired, the top I5 maybe formed of a suitable, preferably transparent, yplastic material.

The upper endportion. of thesidewall IB of each frame member, above.thevrespectiveledge Ill,v has its-inner faceundercut as indicated at I6` to provide an overhanging shoulder I'I which cooperates with theledge I4 Yto provide a substantially `V-shaped groove.

top I5 arelbeveled as .indicated at I8 andare adapted. toy snuglyt within the undercut portions orV grooves I6, the overhanging shoulder Il serving to effectively prevent accidental displacement ofthe saidtop. The thicknessof the glass The edges of lthe glass` u. r. l

top I5 Vis such that theupper surface thereof will be` flush-with the upper edges I9 of the side walls Iof the frame members.

From the abovefitwill be seen that the draw-v ing boardherein provided is of all metal-glass construction and that no woodI whatever is used in the making thereof. The'board is not only of rigid,;. durable construction but is relatively inexpensive to makesince, inasmuch Vas. .the 4frame members 5, 6, 1 and B are identical, only a single die and a single extruding operation are required. The mitering of the ends of the frame members and the securing of said members together by the angle plates I2, makes for a very rigid construction which will not warp or become out of alignment. Also, the beveling 0f the edges of the glass top I5 and the fitting of these beveled edges into the undercut portions I6 holds the glass firmly in the frame, with its upper face on the same plane as the upper edges I9 of the frame members so that there will be no interference b'etween the said top and frame members. Furthermore, this construction eliminates the necessity of drilling holes in the glass top and the use of additional securing means. Should the glass top become broken, it can be easily replaced by simply removing the screws I3 to disconnect the frame members.

The board is of such construction that it will give perfect permanent precision in the use of T-squares and triangles since all danger of warpage and misali'gnment is eliminated. Moreover, the glass top can be washed as'often as desired without any danger of its deterioration or warpage. The extruded metal frame members are of relatively heavy gauge and the edges thereof will not only assure accurate positioning of the T-square but will not become worn through continued use. The hard smooth surface of the glass top imparts an increased bite of the paper, making possible the use of a sharper pencil point while still retaining the same freedom of a soft loose A pencil. Another feature of this drawing board is that by the use of what is known as Scotch tape for holding the edges of the paper to the board, the use of thumb tacks is eliminated, as a result of which marking of vthe face of the board will be obviated.

The glass top l5 further permits the temporary mounting of water colored paper on the board by merely wetting the surface of the paperwhich makes it adhere smoothly to the glasstop or in making a permanent stretch ofthe water color paper on the glass surface. In eithel` case, the technique of water coloring is` greatly simplified, making it practical to run very wet washes and frequent cleaning with a sponge without any danger of saturating the board beneath or without any warping or deterioration so common an objection against the conventional wooden board. The glass top may also be used without fear of staining or discoloration while the air brush or tooth brush splattering method for stencil work in general may be freely used without fear of paint or ink ruining the board.

When making a tracing on the board, the mere tipping of the board to permit light from beneath will greatly simplify the work. Another possibility is the placing of a light underneath the board when it is desired to work at night or under articial lighting conditions. The perfect diffusing of the light bythe tracing paper should cause a minimum of eye strain under these working conditions.

A further use to which this drawing board can be put is in the illustration of illuminated store fronts and for similar purposes. Thus.' a draftsman would be enabled to lay out a colored drawing on the glass top and when finished could place a light behind the board which would illustrate to a prospective buyer what his proposedv store front would look like when illuminated at night.

It is to be understood that the form of the" invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as the preferred embodiment of the same, and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

I claim:

1. A drawing board, comprising a frame formed of metal sections secured together, each of said metal sections includingv a vertical side wall provided at its lower end with a base flange and adjacent its upper end with an inwardly directed horizontal ledge, the inner face of the vertical side wall above said ledge being undercut to provide an overhanging shoulder, means for securing the base flanges of adjacent metal sections together, and a top of vitreous material supported upon said ledges and having beveled edges fitting beneathv said overhanging shoulders and secured in place thereby, the upper surface of said top being flush with the upper edges of the side Walls of said metal sections.

2. A drawing board comprising a frame formed of sections secured together, each of said sections including a Vertical side wall provided at its lower end with a base flange and adjacent its upper end with an inwardly directed horizontal ledge, the inner face of the vertical side wall above said ledge being undercut to provide an overhanging shoulder, means for securing the base flanges of adjacent sections together, and a top of vitreous 5 material supported upon said ledges and having beveled edges fitting beneath said overhanging shoulders and secured in place thereby.

3. A drawing board comprising a frame formed of sections, each of said sections including a vertical side wall provided at its lower end with a base and adjacent its upper end with an inwardly directed horizontal ledge, the inner face of the vertical side wall above said ledge being undercut to provide an overhanging shoulder, means for l securing the adjacent sections together, and a. top of vitreous material supported upon said ledges and having beveled edges fitting beneath said overhanging shoulders and secured in place thereby.

CLYDE D. LOWRY. 

